Relationship of Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Body Mass Index with the Incidence of Dyslipidemia among Japanese Women: A Cohort Study

Low cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and obesity are independent risk factors for dyslipidemia. We investigated the synergistic effects of CRF and obesity on the incidence of dyslipidemia among Japanese women. Of 7627 participants, 927 normolipidemic Japanese women completed a submaximal exercise test, medical examination, and a questionnaire on smoking and alcohol drinking. The incidence of dyslipidemia was defined as having at least one of the following: high-density lipoprotein cholesterol < 40 mg/dL, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol >= 140 mg/dL, fasting triglyceride >= 150 mg/dL, or physician-diagnosed dyslipidemia. Multivariable hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using a Cox proportional hazard regression model. During the follow-up period of <= 16 years (median 1 year), 196 (21.1%) women developed dyslipidemia. Compared with those in the body mass index (BMI)-specific (< or >= 25.0 kg/m(2)) lowest CRF tertile, the multivariable HRs for dyslipidemia in the highest CRF tertile were 1.36 (95% CI, 0.75-2.48) for women with BMI >= 25 kg/m(2) and 0.70 (95% CI, 0.45-1.09) for those with BMI < 25 kg/m(2) (p < 0.01 for interaction). These results suggest that CRF and BMI are interdependent and, together, they affect the incidence of dyslipidemia among Japanese women. CRF is inversely related to a lower incidence of dyslipidemia with low BMI.